Concise representations for association rules in multi-level datasets

Association rule mining has made many advances in the area of knowledge discovery. However, the quality of the discovered association rules is a big concern and has drawn more and more attention recently. One problem with the quality of the discovered association rules is the huge size of the extracted rule set. Often for a dataset, a huge number of rules can be extracted, but many of them can be redundant to other rules and thus useless in practice. Mining non-redundant rules is a promising approach to solve this problem. In this paper, we firstly propose a definition for redundancy; then we propose a concise representation called Reliable basis for representing non-redundant association rules for both exact rules and approximate rules. An important contribution of this paper is that we propose to use the certainty factor as the criteria to measure the strength of the discovered association rules. With the criteria, we can determine the boundary between redundancy and non-redundancy to ensure eliminating as many redundant rules as possible without reducing the inference capacity of and the belief to the remaining extracted non-redundant rules. We prove that the redundancy elimination based on the proposed Reliable basis does not reduce the belief to the extracted rules. We also prove that all association rules can be deduced from the Reliable basis. Therefore the Reliable basis is a lossless representation of association rules. Experimental results show that the proposed Reliable basis can significantly reduce the number of extracted rules.

Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders : findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Background We used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) to estimate the burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost to premature mortality (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs). Methods For each of the 20 mental and substance use disorders included in GBD 2010, we systematically reviewed epidemiological data and used a Bayesian meta-regression tool, DisMod-MR, to model prevalence by age, sex, country, region, and year. We obtained disability weights from representative community surveys and an internet-based survey to calculate YLDs. We calculated premature mortality as YLLs from cause of death estimates for 1980–2010 for 20 age groups, both sexes, and 187 countries. We derived DALYs from the sum of YLDs and YLLs. We adjusted burden estimates for comorbidity and present them with 95% uncertainty intervals. Findings In 2010, mental and substance use disorders accounted for 183·9 million DALYs (95% UI 153·5 million–216·7 million), or 7·4% (6·2–8·6) of all DALYs worldwide. Such disorders accounted for 8·6 million YLLs (6·5 million–12·1 million; 0·5% [0·4–0·7] of all YLLs) and 175·3 million YLDs (144·5 million–207·8 million; 22·9% [18·6–27·2] of all YLDs). Mental and substance use disorders were the leading cause of YLDs worldwide. Depressive disorders accounted for 40·5% (31·7–49·2) of DALYs caused by mental and substance use disorders, with anxiety disorders accounting for 14·6% (11·2–18·4), illicit drug use disorders for 10·9% (8·9–13·2), alcohol use disorders for 9·6% (7·7–11·8), schizophrenia for 7·4% (5·0–9·8), bipolar disorder for 7·0% (4·4–10·3), pervasive developmental disorders for 4·2% (3·2–5·3), childhood behavioural disorders for 3·4% (2·2–4·7), and eating disorders for 1·2% (0·9–1·5). DALYs varied by age and sex, with the highest proportion of total DALYs occurring in people aged 10–29 years. The burden of mental and substance use disorders increased by 37·6% between 1990 and 2010, which for most disorders was driven by population growth and ageing. Interpretation Despite the apparently small contribution of YLLs—with deaths in people with mental disorders coded to the physical cause of death and suicide coded to the category of injuries under self-harm—our findings show the striking and growing challenge that these disorders pose for health systems in developed and developing regions. In view of the magnitude of their contribution, improvement in population health is only possible if countries make the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders a public health priority.

Exhaled nitric oxide : Variability and association with bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopy

Airway inflammation is a key feature of bronchial asthma. In asthma management, according to international guidelines, the gold standard is anti-inflammatory treatment. Currently, only conventional procedures (i.e., symptoms, use of rescue medication, PEF-variability, and lung function tests) were used to both diagnose and evaluate the results of treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs. New methods for evaluation of degree of airway inflammation are required. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas which is produced in the airways of healthy subjects and especially produced in asthmatic airways. Measurement of NO from the airways is possible, and NO can be measured from exhaled air. Fractional exhaled NO (FENO) is increased in asthma, and the highest concentrations are measured in asthmatic patients not treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Steroid-treated patients with asthma had levels of FENO similar to those of healthy controls. Atopic asthmatics had higher levels of FENO than did nonatopic asthmatics, indicating that level of atopy affected FENO level. Associations between FENO and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) occur in asthma. The present study demonstrated that measurement of FENO had good reproducibility, and the FENO variability was reasonable both short- and long-term in both healthy subjects and patients with respiratory symptoms or asthma. We demonstrated the upper normal limit for healthy subjects, which was 12 ppb calculated from two different healthy study populations. We showed that patients with respiratory symptoms who did not fulfil the diagnostic criteria of asthma had FENO values significantly higher than in healthy subjects, but significantly lower than in asthma patients. These findings suggest that BHR to histamine is a sensitive indicator of the effect of ICS and a valuable tool for adjustment of corticosteroid treatment in mild asthma. The findings further suggest that intermittent treatment periods of a few weeks’ duration are insufficient to provide long-term control of BHR in patients with mild persistent asthma. Moreover, during the treatment with ICS changes in BHR and changes in FENO were associated. FENO level was associated with BHR measured by a direct (histamine challenge) or indirect method (exercise challenge) in steroid-naïve symptomatic, non-smoking asthmatics. Although these associations could be found only in atopics, FENO level in nonatopic asthma was also increased. It can thus be concluded that assessment of airway inflammation by measuring FENO can be useful for clinical purposes. The methodology of FENO measurements is now validated. Especially in those patients with respiratory symptoms who did not fulfil the diagnostic criteria of asthma, FENO measurement can aid in treatment decisions. Serial measurement of FENO during treatment with ICS can be a complementary or an alternative method for evaluation in patients with asthma.

ON POLYTOPAL UPPER BOUND SPHERES

Generalizing a result (the case k = 1) due to M. A. Perles, we show that any polytopal upper bound sphere of odd dimension 2k + 1 belongs to the generalized Walkup class K-k(2k + 1), i.e., all its vertex links are k-stacked spheres. This is surprising since it is far from obvious that the vertex links of polytopal upper bound spheres should have any special combinatorial structure. It has been conjectured that for d not equal 2k + 1, all (k + 1)-neighborly members of the class K-k(d) are tight. The result of this paper shows that the hypothesis d not equal 2k + 1 is essential for every value of k >= 1.

Geochemical behaviour of dissolved trace elements in a monsoon-dominated tropical river basin, Southwestern India

The study presents a 3-year time series data on dissolved trace elements and rare earth elements (REEs) in a monsoon-dominated river basin, the Nethravati River in tropical Southwestern India. The river basin lies on the metamorphic transition boundary which separates the Peninsular Gneiss and Southern Granulitic province belonging to Archean and Tertiary-Quaternary period (Western Dharwar Craton). The basin lithology is mainly composed of granite gneiss, charnockite and metasediment. This study highlights the importance of time series data for better estimation of metal fluxes and to understand the geochemical behaviour of metals in a river basin. The dissolved trace elements show seasonality in the river water metal concentrations forming two distinct groups of metals. First group is composed of heavy metals and minor elements that show higher concentrations during dry season and lesser concentrations during the monsoon season. Second group is composed of metals belonging to lanthanides and actinides with higher concentration in the monsoon and lower concentrations during the dry season. Although the metal concentration of both the groups appears to be controlled by the discharge, there are important biogeochemical processes affecting their concentration. This includes redox reactions (for Fe, Mn, As, Mo, Ba and Ce) and pH-mediated adsorption/desorption reactions (for Ni, Co, Cr, Cu and REEs). The abundance of Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides as a result of redox processes could be driving the geochemical redistribution of metals in the river water. There is a Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce*) at different time periods, both negative and positive, in case of dissolved phase, whereas there is positive anomaly in the particulate and bed sediments. The Ce anomaly correlates with the variations in the dissolved oxygen indicating the redistribution of Ce between particulate and dissolved phase under acidic to neutral pH and lower concentrations of dissolved organic carbon. Unlike other tropical and major world rivers, the effect of organic complexation on metal variability is negligible in the Nethravati River water.

Fatigue crack-growth rate in ferrite martensite dual-phase steel

An empirical study is made on the fatigue crack growth rate in ferrite-martensite dual-phase (FMDP) steel. Particular attention is given to the effect of ferrite content in the range of 24.2% to 41.5% where good fatigue resistance was found at 33.8%. Variations in ferrite content did not affect the crack growth rate when plotted against the effective stress intensity factor range  which was assumed to follow a linear relation with the crack tip stress intensity factor range ΔK. A high  corresponds to uniformly distributed small size ferrite and martensite. No other appreciable correlation could be ralated to the microstructure morphology of the FMDP steel. The closure stress intensity factor , however, is affected by the ferrite content with  reaching a maximum value of 0.7. In general, crack growth followed the interphase between the martensite and ferrite.

Dividing the fatigue crack growth process into Stage I and II where the former would be highly sensitive to changes in ΔK and the latter would increase with ΔK depending on the  ratio. The same data when correlated with the strain energy density factor range ΔS showed negligible dependence on mean stress or R ratio for Stage I crack growth. A parameter α involving the ratio of ultimate stress to yield stress, percent reduction of area and R is introduced for Stage II crack growth so that the  data for different R would collapse onto a single curve with a narrow scatter band when plotted against αΔS.

Estrategias de Internacionalización en el sector hotelero: Estudio de casos

Este Trabajo de Fin de Grado se centra en el análisis de las principales estrategias de internacionalización de las dos cadenas hoteleras de mayor relevancia a nivel nacional: Meliá Hotels International y NH Hotel Group. Tras comenzar con un pequeño marco conceptual basado en la revisión bibliográfica de autores expertos en dirección estratégica e internacionalización, se ha procedido a realizar una investigación cualitativa: En primer lugar se describe el desarrollo de ambas compañías en el ámbito internacional hasta llegar a la actualidad, para proseguir con el análisis de sus actuales estrategias de internacionalización y formas de crecimiento. Por último se evalúan los resultados obtenidos y se dan a conocer sus futuras líneas de actuación a nivel internacional

A survey of aquatic invertebrates of the Somerset Levels, August 13-14, 1981

Since 1975 the wildlife interest of the Somerset Levels and Moors have been assessed. Detailed information has been obtained on the conservation interest of meadows, breeding and wintering bird populations and the botany of aquatic habitats (rhynes). Little work to date has been carried out on the terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate fauna. The prime aim of this survey was to sample a wide variety of rhynes in order to obtain information on the nature and distribution of aquatic invertebrates.

O passado no presente: estudo das memórias e representações sociais de profissionais de saúde no contexto da epidemia do HIV/Aids

O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar os conteúdos das memórias sociais, construídas por profissionais de saúde, acerca da epidemia do HIV/Aids no Brasil, desde o seu surgimento até os dias atuais. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório-descritivo, pautado na abordagem qualitativa, orientado pela Teoria das Representações Sociais, em interseção com as Memórias Sociais. Os sujeitos do estudo foram 23 profissionais de saúde graduados de serviços ambulatoriais e/ou da atenção básica, atuantes em 18 instituições públicas de saúde da cidade do Rio de Janeiro que possuem o Programa Nacional de DST/Aids. A coleta de dados deu-se por meio de um roteiro de entrevista semiestruturada e um questionário de caracterização sócio profissional. Para a análise dos dados foi utilizada a técnica de análise lexical, realizada pelo software ALCESTE 4.10. Na análise do grupo total de sujeitos foram definidas três categorias denominadas: As primeiras décadas da epidemia: a formação da representação social do HIV/Aids e das memórias, abordando a formação das representações e os elementos de memória nas décadas de 80 e 90; As práticas multiprofissionais e o atendimento à pessoa com HIV/Aids nos dias atuais, abordando a cotidianidade e as representações acerca do HIV/Aids na atualidade e Formas de transmissão e precaução pessoal e profissional, abordando a precaução pessoal e profissional implicada na prevenção, enquanto conteúdo atemporal e transversal aos períodos analisados. A análise dos dados revelou que os profissionais de saúde delimitaram as memórias acerca da Aids no inicio da epidemia, associadas ao homossexualidade e à morte, tendo as mesmas se estruturado através da difusão dos conhecimentos estabelecidos na época pela mídia e pelo aparecimento dos primeiros casos assistidos pelos profissionais, que determinaram um cenário de estereótipos atrelados ao HIV e à Aids. A década de 90 foi relembrada como aquela de uma nova esperança com a inserção dos antirretrovirais e o estabelecimento de protocolos de acompanhamento determinando o início de uma mudança da representação. Na atualidade, as representações reconstroem a dinâmica estabelecida pelo Programa de Aids e Hepatites Virais enfatizando o papel das equipes multiprofissionais, a interdisciplinaridade, o tratamento e as práticas de cuidado. Observa-se a inserção de uma nova dinâmica relacionada à diminuição da importância da morte e da homossexualidade na centralidade da representação e a inserção de outros elementos relacionados ao Programa de Aids e Hepatites Virais estabelecido. Conclui-se que as memórias e representações sociais acerca do HIV/Aids e das pessoas acometidas foram construídas com base nas práticas de saúde estabelecidas pelos profissionais e, ainda, apoiadas nas características dos pacientes com Aids em cada período, conforme representadas.

武汉东湖桡足类的生态学演变

根据１９６２－１９６３，１９７４－１９７５，１９７９－１９９１年在武汉东湖进行的调查资料，考察了过去三十年内在东湖两个代表性采样站桡足类的种类组成及现存量的变化。结果表明：桡足类种类数由６０年代的１４种减少为９０年代的７种，Ｉ、Ⅱ站在种类组成的差别趋于消失。统计结果表明，东湖桡足类现存量以８０年代初、中期较高。但在水平分布格局上却发生了根本变化，由１９８７年前的Ｉ站现存量高于Ⅱ站，至１９８７年后Ⅱ站高于Ｉ站。本文还就影响东湖桡足类演变的生态因子进行了讨论。

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